Mongolia slips 15 places on the 2016 Corruption Perception Index

The Corruption Perception Index is an annual report published by Berlin-based Transparency International, a global civil society NGO focused on combating corruption.

Over two-thirds of the 176 countries and territories surveyed in this year’s index fell below the midpoint of the scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). Denmark topped the list with a score of 90.

Transparency International Mongolia introduced the report at the Open Society Forum held in Ulaanbaatar on January 25.

Transparency International Mongolia stated, “Over recent years, Mongolia’s score on the Corruption Perception Index has stagnated, with scores of 36 in 2012, 38 in 2013, 39 in 2014, and 39 in 2015. This year, Mongolia’s score fell by one point to 38, suggesting continued stagnation in Mongolia’s anti-corruption efforts.”

The NGO also reported that economic growth plummeted from 17 percent to -1.6 percent in September. The report suggests that corruption has played an important part in current economic hardships and the decline in foreign investment. According to Transparency International, the detrimental effects of corruption not only impacted the economy but “also gradually lead to the loss of public trust in political institutions and the government’s willingness to genuinely fight corruption”.

Transparency International Mongolia proposed strengthening the Independent Authority Against Corruption and its independence, improving the legal environment, implementing the newly adopted National Anti-Corruption Strategy, and enabling systemic reforms in line with the National Strategy, measures that will be crucial steps to bringing back hope for society and reducing the level of corruption in Mongolia.

The UB Post was first founded in 1996, and has since become Mongolia’s leading English-language news outlet. As part of the broader Mongol News group, the UB Post provides comprehensive coverage of social, economic and political developments in Mongolia and elsewhere.